Wasted

Attempting a time trial today. Failed.

Strong 15mph headwind the whole way out to Myerstown. Cracked at Myerstown, and the wind shifted to a crosswind, so no impetus to keep going and make up time on the return. Soft-pedaled home.

Average speed - 17.5mph
Temperature - 95

Going Backwards

Three climb ride today. Head wind on all climbs.

Texter Mountain climb - 18:30 (worst yet!)
Average Speed - 14.45 mph

Not sure if it was the wind, the heat or my fitness going backwards.

New Shimano PD-M150 pedals are outstanding, though!

Three Climb Ride

Elevation profile of the "three climb ride."



1) Texter Mountain Rd.
2.9 miles
4.7% average gradient
22% max gradient
Descent on Sportsman

2) Furnace to Galen Hall
2.1 miles
4.7% average gradient
Descent in reverse

3) Sportsman Rd.
2.8 miles
4.3% average gradient
12% max gradient
Descent in reverse

2,600 feet of climbing.

Seized Pedal

I wonder how long I've been riding with my left pedal seized up? It might explain why I've felt like such shit recently.

Three climb ride today again. Felt like hell on lower Texter Mountain Rd.

Texter climb - 17:40 (again -- boo!)
Average speed - 15mph (better than last week)

Not a lot of wind. High humidity. Around 85 degrees.

Nervous Ride

A new route is always nervous. There were two riders who crashed in Robesonia and were being helped by an ambulance and police officer. The taller, lankier rider had some pretty severe road rash on his face. Not sure what happened. Thought about stopping and asking them if it was a hit-and-run. Either way, it freaked me out -- on top of the untried route.

The route was out to Womelsdorf, then right onto 419 and north to 183 and to the vicinity of the Appalachian Trail. I made it to within a mile of Gobbler's Spur Road and had to turn back. 183 was too dangerous. Narrow shoulder and too many speeding cars.

On the way back, my left pedal broke, but I was able to continue using it.

47 miles
2:52
16.54 average speed
Headwind (NNW) out, tailwind home

Ride profile (half distance to Appalachian Trail):

Meltdown

95 degrees plus humidity. I opted for the three-climb ride. Texter Mountain Road, Furnace to Galen to the hobbit village, then Sportsman. Mini-climb on Preston.

17:40 on the Texter Mountain climb.
14.4 mph average speed

Wasn't drilling it at all.

Intervals

Scorching hot day. Still not recovered from hard effort on Friday's TT. Legs were very weak.

Did seven headwind interval repetitions at the mental hospital, then the easy recovery climb up Sportsman. Consistently hit 27.5 mph on the interval reps despite being exhausted, hot and weak.

I can't remember it being this windy in mid-Summer.

Almost There

Solid Myerstown TT today. Very minor headwind on the way out. Minor tailwind on the way back. Not much flag movement. Mid- to low-80s.

Average speed: 19.75 mph
Time: 1:50
Distance: 36.71 miles
Cruising speed on the way out: 20.5 mph give or take
Cruising speed on the way back: 23 mph give or take

It's very likely I would've broken the 20 mph average speed threshold, but I had to stop at four different traffic signals. Rare. One of them was the usually empty Richland intersection on the way back. The slowing, stopping then starting up again really impacts the average speed calculations.

Two Climbs

Got a late start so I did a shorter 2-climb ride. Texter Mountain Road and Galen Hall to the hobbit village, then home.

Total average speed - 15.5 mph

Texter Mountain Road hill climb - 17:30

Uphill sprint to Redners - Held a solid 23mph

Texter climb was painful at the bottom. But did the first mile to Focht Road in 9:30, which I think is faster that usual.

Mt. Penn Climb

Finally did the climb to the summit of Mt. Penn.

The road was closed for a previous car race, so I had the road to myself.

9.5mph average from the bottom of Duryea to the Fire Tower. Remarkably hot -- around 95 degrees.

The descent was too sketchy, though, so I'll probably avoid this climb for a long while. Bad roads, lots of potholes.

Catching Up

It's 2010 and a couple of years since the last time I posted, but I certainly haven't stopped training and riding. From here on out, I'll be logging my progress as I ramp up my efforts.

Weight: 185 lbs. (weighed 240 in 2007-2008)
Average speed max on Myerstown TT: 19.7mph
Cruising speed on Myerstown TT: 22mph
Average ride time: 2.5 hours

Currently combining the Eagles Peak climb with the Texter Mountain climb and the Galen climb.



Also, I finally did the South Mountain climb up from Newmanstown.

Working on interval training once a week to increase overall average speed.

Eagle's Peak and the Filthy Fifteen

Another local rider, Paul, is working on a series of Berks County climbs called the Filthy Fifteen. Unfortunately, I've been away from the blog and I'm only now catching his comment from February 11.

Lately, I've been climbing up to Eagle's Peak -- a brutal climb split into two sections with a much-needed short recovery descent in the middle.

Turn left onto Hill Rd at the Citgo station along 422. There's a short 6% climb over the railroad tracks. Turn left at the other side and the climbing begins. There are switchback turns that max out at 30%, but only for a few dozen feet. Hill continues up to the summit of the mountain and then descends to an awkward V-intersection at Eagle's Peak Rd. Turn right onto Eagle's Peak and the climbing continues. This section is longer, but not as steep as Hill Rd. Once you pass Eagle's Peak campground, there's a harrowing descent down to Newmanstown. The profile:



So Paul, if you're still around, drop me an e-mail at robertcesca(at)hotmail(dot)com.